Rocket League now auto-bans players using abusive words

Rocket League [official site] players will face automatic bans if they use certain words in chat under new anti-harassment rules introduced this week. Developer Psyonix has come up with a list of 20 words, including racial slurs, that players will be punished for using, and plan to expand the list in future.

Under the ‘Language Ban’ system, each word on the list (which is secret) will have a different threshold for punishment. Some you might get away with using once or twice, but you won’t be so lucky with others. And if you’re a repeat offender you’ll receive a permanent ban from the game. It’s all automated, and based on whether the words in question show up on in-game reports you make about other players (or other players make about you).

“As our community grows larger still, so too does the need to ensure that Rocket League is a consistently-safe, harassment-free place where players of all ages and backgrounds can come together and execute the sweetest of aerial goals and backflip saves” Psyonix said in this week’s announcement. They explained the banning:

“Each word has its own threshold, and once a threshold for any word has been reached, that player will be automatically subject to a ban. These bans will typically start at 24 hours, then escalate to 72 hours, one week, and finally, a permanent ban.

“Of the thousands of reports we receive every day, the majority are tied to in-game abuse and harassment — typically in the form of abusive language. This new Language Ban system will help us address reports quickly and precisely.”

I mean, it seems like a grand idea to me. There’s no reason anybody should be abusing other people in chat.

In other Rocket League news, the game’s trade-in system has been expanded, so now you can swap higher value items than you could before. Previously, you could trade five Uncommon and Rare items for one of higher quality – you can now do the same with Very Rare and Import quality goodies.